Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
John Stewart's follow-up to the unprecedented success of California Bloodlines stuck close to the same formula. Recorded in Hollywood with many of the same musicians from the earlier record -- Norb Putnam, Kenny Buttrey, Charlie McCoy, among them -- Stewart also employed other country musicians such as banjo boss Bobby Thompson and fiddle player Doug Kershaw as well as a host of his peers -- from Russ Kunkel and Carole King to Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar, James Taylor, and Bryan Garofalo -- at the suggestion of producer Peter Asher -- later known for his schlock work with Linda Ronstadt and Carly Simon among others. Nonetheless despite Asher's best attempts at taming the thin, reedy wildness in Stewart's voice, it wasn't to be. Stewart is a songwriter with a rambling vision, and the best of his rambling songs are included here, and as such, he draws inspired performances from all of his bandmembers. The feel of the album is somewhat stripped of the California crap that was in so many records from that time. A listen to "Belly Full of Tennessee," with Kershaw's fiddle and Putnam's bass driving the tune, colored elegiacally with Thompson's banjo, makes it a Louisiana bayou dance tune. It's raw, tough, and full of unbreakable spirit. "Back in Pomona" is a country rocker in the purest sense of the word. Stewart's uncompromising lyrical vision that relates the past as if it were a living, breathing present drives a band eager to carry those words through to the listener. Willard is a romantic record in the same way that California Bloodlines was, but its romanticism is well intentioned in that it poetically preserves a time period in America that was quickly disappearing. In the title track, Stewart's romanticism centers on a character, a hobo, who embodies everything that is free and wild, untamed, and often tragic, but there are no apologies, no sentiments other than the fact that this unlikely icon is everyone and everyone is him, separated only by circumstance. Likewise "Golden Rollin' Belly," about the need for a woman's sexual company, with Chris Darrow's fiddle and Thompson's banjo riding well inside a big fat Garofalo bassline. Willard is a country record in all the best ways; it just might be Stewart's master opus.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $16.65/month
Peter Asher, Producer - John Stewart, Composer, MainArtist
℗ 1970 Capitol Records, LLC
Peter Asher, Producer - John Stewart, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1970 Capitol Records, LLC.
Peter Asher, Producer - John Stewart, Composer, MainArtist
℗ 1970 Capitol Records, LLC
Peter Asher, Producer - John Stewart, Composer, MainArtist
℗ 1970 Capitol Records, LLC
Peter Asher, Producer - John Stewart, Composer, MainArtist
℗ 1970 Capitol Records, LLC
Peter Asher, Producer - John Stewart, Composer, MainArtist
℗ 1970 Capitol Records, LLC
Peter Asher, Producer - John Stewart, Composer, MainArtist
℗ 1970 Capitol Records, LLC
Peter Asher, Producer - John Stewart, Composer, MainArtist
℗ 1970 Capitol Records, LLC
Peter Asher, Producer - John Stewart, Composer, MainArtist
℗ 1970 Capitol Records, LLC
Peter Asher, Producer - John Stewart, Composer, MainArtist
℗ 1970 Capitol Records, LLC
Peter Asher, Producer - John Stewart, Composer, MainArtist
℗ 1970 Capitol Records, LLC
Peter Asher, Producer - John Stewart, Composer, MainArtist
℗ 1970 Capitol Records, LLC
Peter Asher, Producer - John Stewart, Composer, MainArtist
℗ 1970 Capitol Records, LLC
Peter Asher, Producer - John Stewart, Composer, MainArtist
℗ 1970 Capitol Records, LLC
Peter Asher, Producer - John Stewart, Composer, MainArtist
℗ 2010 Capitol Records, LLC
Album review
John Stewart's follow-up to the unprecedented success of California Bloodlines stuck close to the same formula. Recorded in Hollywood with many of the same musicians from the earlier record -- Norb Putnam, Kenny Buttrey, Charlie McCoy, among them -- Stewart also employed other country musicians such as banjo boss Bobby Thompson and fiddle player Doug Kershaw as well as a host of his peers -- from Russ Kunkel and Carole King to Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar, James Taylor, and Bryan Garofalo -- at the suggestion of producer Peter Asher -- later known for his schlock work with Linda Ronstadt and Carly Simon among others. Nonetheless despite Asher's best attempts at taming the thin, reedy wildness in Stewart's voice, it wasn't to be. Stewart is a songwriter with a rambling vision, and the best of his rambling songs are included here, and as such, he draws inspired performances from all of his bandmembers. The feel of the album is somewhat stripped of the California crap that was in so many records from that time. A listen to "Belly Full of Tennessee," with Kershaw's fiddle and Putnam's bass driving the tune, colored elegiacally with Thompson's banjo, makes it a Louisiana bayou dance tune. It's raw, tough, and full of unbreakable spirit. "Back in Pomona" is a country rocker in the purest sense of the word. Stewart's uncompromising lyrical vision that relates the past as if it were a living, breathing present drives a band eager to carry those words through to the listener. Willard is a romantic record in the same way that California Bloodlines was, but its romanticism is well intentioned in that it poetically preserves a time period in America that was quickly disappearing. In the title track, Stewart's romanticism centers on a character, a hobo, who embodies everything that is free and wild, untamed, and often tragic, but there are no apologies, no sentiments other than the fact that this unlikely icon is everyone and everyone is him, separated only by circumstance. Likewise "Golden Rollin' Belly," about the need for a woman's sexual company, with Chris Darrow's fiddle and Thompson's banjo riding well inside a big fat Garofalo bassline. Willard is a country record in all the best ways; it just might be Stewart's master opus.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 15 track(s)
- Total length: 00:44:34
- Main artists: John Stewart
- Composer: John Stewart
- Label: EMI Music Special Markets
- Genre: Folk
© 1970 Capitol Records, LLC ℗ 1970 Capitol Records, LLC
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.